An orphan or a prince
by Melissa Waters
Summary: King Eckbert tells Kerwyn about Jaron; how he's been alive for four years. Kerwyn sets out on a journey, to bring Jaron home, before the poison kills his family. How will the lost prince react to seeing his family again?
1. Truths and Meetings

***** IMPORTANT! In this story, Mrs. Turbely is kind and caring, and there are similar changes in Sage/Jaron. I hope you enjoy this story, and please review. *****

Lord Kerwyn rode on the dirt road, on the back of a brown stallion. It had been nearly a full day since he had left Drylliad, by the King's order.

He was still shocked about what Eckbert had revealed, laying on his bed, fatally sick.

* Lord Kerwyn hurried down the hall, new wrinkles appearing all over his face, eyes filled with worry. He turned from numerous corners, descended stairs, but not once did he doubt that it was the right way.

He had walked down these halls, many times, memorizing every inch.

When he finally made it to the royal quarters, nurses milled the hallways.

Pushing through them, he rushed to the dark oak wood door, leading into the personal rooms of the King and Queen. There they were, both of them laying on the bed, faces pale.

Queen Erin's eyes were closed, but Kerwyn was relieved to see that she was breathing.

King Eckbert was in an upward sitting position, eyes immediately finding Kerwyn's.

" Kerwyn." Eckbert said, nodding, and the old man walked to the side of the bed.

" Your Majesty? You sent for me?"

The King lifted a hand to his mouth and coughed into the handkerchief in it. When he pulled it away, there was a small red spot on the white silk.

" I have a task for you."*

Kerwyn had been shocked.

The secret Eckbert had told him, had not been what he had expected.

Jaron was alive? He'd been hiding for all these years, only a days ride away? He still couldn't believe it. But he had to follow the King's, even a dying ones, orders.

He was here to bring Jaron home.

When Kerwyn talked to Mrs. Turbeldy about Jaron - Sage, Kerwyn corrected himself - he doubted they were even talking about the same person.

The boy he remembered was ignorant, selfish and destructive. The boy Mrs. Turbeldy was talking about was a caring, gentle and brave.

" He's such a nice boy, Lord Kerwyn. He was a very different person when he came here, but when he became the oldest one, he changed. Even when he was young, I doubt he could've done anything, what would've caught your attention.

" You see... he's like a big brother to the younger children. He's nearly eight years older than the second oldest. He sings them to sleep every night, tells them stories, and plays with them. If the children are too tired to wake up, he takes their shifts in washing the dishes and helping the cooks make breakfast."

Kerwyn nodded thoughtfully and came to a decision.

" I would want to meet him."

When they neared the room where the children slept, the sun had set behind the horizon. There were noise and laughter coming from the room. Mrs. Turbeldy sighed, but couldn't help but let a smile escape her lips. She motioned for Kerwyn to stop a few feet from the door and opened it slightly herself.

" - you ain't getting my treasure, you little brat! " came a deep, acted voice from inside. Kerwyn peered from over Mrs. Turbeldy's shoulder, and inside he saw about a dozen children in their beds, sitting, staring at an older and a younger boy, standing in the middle of the floor, brooms held in their hands like swords.

The older boy, about 15 years old, was wearing what looked like a pillowcase around his head, covering his left eye.

He had a red scarf tied around his waist, an off-white lace shirt, with brown pants and leather boots. The younger boy was wearing white pajamas.

Mrs. Turbeldy coughed gently, and the older boy turned around, while everyone else quieted down.

" Oh, Mrs. Turbeldy! Is there something you-" At that moment the younger boy lifted his 'sword' and hit the older boy in the head with it.

" Ow!" The older boy lifted a hand over the back of his head, where a bump would be sure to rise.

He gave an apologizing look to Mrs- Turbeldy before turning to the boy again, changing his voice back into a deep one.

" Alright, alright, you win. I surrender. But now, I must go." He bowed and set down his sword before walking out of the door, the children laughing behind him.

When he was out of the room, he closed the door and ripped the costume off. Kerwyn retreated into the shadows, as his eyes landed on the boy's face.

Brown hair fell over his green eyes, making them barely visible. A strong and sharp jawline and thick eyebrows brought up the manly features. Kerwyn could've recognized the prince anywhere.

" Sage, they're supposed to be sleeping." Mrs. Turbeldy said gently.

" I know, I know. " Jaron answered, bowing his head acting sad. "But you don't know the puppy eyes they were giving me."

Mrs. Turbeldy shook her head slightly, not disappointed, but more like amused.

" Sage, if they stay up this late, they won't wake up in the morning. And when they don't wake up in the morning, you do. Then you can't get to sleep because you're telling them stories and playing. You get tired. And when you're tired, you're grumpy. And no one likes it when you're grumpy."

" If you're talking about the time I threw that stray cat into a pile of horse dung, I just have to say; that cat was irritating. " Jaron answered, grinning from ear to ear.

At that moment, Mrs. Turbeldy seemed to remember the real reason she had called the boy there.

" Umm... Sage? There's someone here, who wants to meet you."

She turned around so that Jaron had a clear view of the man behind her. As soon as their eyes met, Jaron's mouth was hanging open, and Kerwyn wasn't much better. He had tears welling in his eyes, as he tried comparing the boy in front of him to the one that had been sent away from the castle four years prior.

" Wha... what are you..." It seemed as though Jaron gave up hope on trying to speak, for the sprang forward, and threw his arms around the older man.

Kerwyn held the teen close, with a death grip. Mrs. Turbeldy was giving them a confused look, as if not believing the two knew each other.

When they pulled away, Jaron was grinning, salty drops spilling from his eyes.

" How? When? What?" he asked, hands resting on the older man's shoulders.

" Do you have any idea, how much I've missed you?" Kerwyn asked, cupping the teenager's face in his wrinkled hands. The boy smiled at the question.

" Probably a lot, but not as much as I've missed you." Another embrace was shared, while Mrs. Turbeldy stood a few feet away, staring at them in utter confusion.

" I'm sorry to interrupt... but do you know each other?" the woman asked, making the two turn around to face her.

After a moments hesitation, Kerwyn suggested they go to another room, where they could talk with no fear of anyone else hearing.

He actually felt sad thinking about how unprepared Mrs. Turbeldy was for the truth.


	2. Stories and Goodbyes

***** IMPORTANT! In the original summary of this story, I said that this would happen before the False Prince, and the book would happen after this, I have now changed it! The first book does not happen, but Jaron does meet Tobias and Roden, and Conner will be exposed, so don't worry. I don't believe the second or third book will be taken away though, but I won't be making you, Guest and lonelyimsolonely, for the reviews. You both wanted another chapter, so here it is! Enjoy!*****

Though both Kerwyn and Jaron were still in shock from seeing each other, they both turned serious when the conversation started. They had entered a room at the end of the hallway from the children's dormitory. The room was small, but it held a couch, an armchair, and a stone fireplace, along with some house plants.

The room was usually used by the cooks, Mrs. Turbeldy and Jaron. The smaller children enjoyed the room whenever they could, but they couldn't all fit in it without someone being left out. But now, the room was only occupied by Kerwyn and Jaron, who were sitting on the couch, and Mrs. Turbeldy who was sitting in the armchair.

Mrs. Turbeldy looked confused, her brows knitted together, but waited patiently for an answer. An answer that was hard to form into words. Finally, after about a minute of silence, Kerwyn spoke.

" I take it you are very well aware, that Prince Jaron disappeared four years ago at sea?" It wasn't really a question; the whole kingdom knew about it, but Jaron figured Kerwyn was trying to give out hints so that the actual truth wouldn't come as such a big surprise.

Mrs. Turbeldy nodded but didn't seem to realize why the question was included in the conversation.

" And... his body was never found, right? Do you know why?" The confused woman shook her head. " It's because, Jaron wasn't on the ship, that was attacked by pirates. He escaped it, before it set sail, without anyone knowing. " A surprised expression from Mrs. Turbeldy. " For a few weeks, Jaron survived in Avenia, before Prince Darius found him. Soon after, the King went to meet him. But... the King forbid him from coming home so that if something happened to the royal family, Carthaya would have an heir.

" For years, Jaron has lived as a normal person, disguised, as one of the citizens, under a false name and past. "

Even after the last sentence, the older woman didn't seem to connect the clues. Finally, Jaron, who had been silent the whole conversation, spoke up.

" Mrs. Turbeldy?" The woman turned her head towards the boy. " Sage isn't my real name."

Mrs. Turbeldy's eyes widened and her mouth fell open, once she realized what the whole conversation meant.

" You... you're..." The words stumbled out of her open mouth in a mess.

" Prince Jaron. " he finished.

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Mrs. Turbeldy was in such a shock, that Jaron had to get her a glass of cold water from the kitchen. But after a moment, she seemed as good as new, altough shaken.

Seeing this, Jaron finally turned to Kerwyn and asked the question that had been bugging him for a while.

" So, what are you doing here?"

Immediately, Kerwyn's face hardened and paled. He suddenly found it hard to look Jaron in the eyes. The teenager noticed this and felt worry invading his mind, paralyzing his thoughts.

" Jaron... your family's been poisoned."

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Jaron stood for a moment in front of the door to the children's room, wondering how he was going break the news to them. The news, that he would be leaving.

His heart ached at the thought of his family being poisoned. If what Kerwyn said was true, they were dying, but still alive, at least for a few days. They were going to leave in the middle of the night so that they would arrive in Drylliad at the same time the next day, making the possibility of being seen very unlikely.

They would be gone by the time the children had fallen asleep.

Quietly, he grabbed the door handle and stepped inside.

The children, from age three to eight, were laying in bed, but not one was sleeping. Immediately, all of them sat up, eyes tired but curious.

" Who did come, Sawe?" one of the three-year-olds, Dylan asked, mispronouncing his name, and getting confused with the choice of words. The question proved that at least one of them had spied on them through the door.

Jaron smiled, and walked over to the toddler's bed, sat down, and pulled the boy under his arms. They were soon joined by six other children, all of them trying to get as close to him as possible. The other's grabbed their blankets, and sat on the floor, staring at him expectedly.

" Why are you sad?" One of the girls asked, and Jaron turned his head to see Leah, a six-year-old staring at him. Her hair was a brownish-red and her eyes were the color of the sky.

I took him a moment before he could say the words, and even then they came out barely louder than a whisper.

" I'm leaving. "

Horror appeared on all their faces and the ones who were already next to him, gripped onto his clothes as if trying to keep him from leaving.

" No! You can't go!" They all screamed, and Jaron felt his heart being torn to pieces.

" Guys..." Jaron took a deep breath, thinking what he would say. " I'm going to tell you a story.

" A long time ago, there was a boy. He was young and adventurous. But, he didn't know how to survive on his own. He was selfish, always though the servants would get everything done for him. But one day, everything changed.

" He was separated from his family. His parents and his brother. Away from everything familiar. He was alone. And only then, he realized, how much he had actually depended on everyone else. He was lost.

" Then one day, this father came and said he couldn't come home. And for years, the boy thought no one cared. That was until he realized why his father hadn't let him come home. "

" Why?" one of the boys shouted, but the rest of the children silenced him with murderous looks and a few slaps.

" Because he was protecting his son. From dangers, that faced his family. Bad people. The boy didn't have a good relationship with his father, and the case was so bad, he thought his father hated him. That he didn't care. But he did care. Because he had saved his son's life. And the boy was very grateful for that. "

A moment of silence. Then:

" What happen to the boy?" It was Dylan who asked the question, again forgetting how to say the words.

" The boy grew out of his selfishness and started respecting others. He started caring and taking care of people who needed him. If someone who knew him before he changed saw him, they wouldn't know he was the same person.

" Now... the thing I'm trying to tell you is... the boy went through struggles, and one of them was losing his family. Losing people he depended on. But he moved on. He learned how to live without them always being there. And that is something you will learn to do without me. "

The children looked down, their faces sad, but understanding. Jaron was surprised that the story had made his eyes water. It _had_ told of him; everything he had gone through. It made him realize, that he really did miss his family.

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Although the plan was to leave after the children were asleep, it turned out not to work, as the children had refused to go to sleep without saying goodbye to him properly. So now, as Jaron strapped the foods Kerwyn had with him onto his horse, he could feel the dozen pairs of eyes on his back.

His horse, Taran, was patiently standing by the side, a saddle already on his back. Taran had been born six years prior, from Jaron's horse, Caitlyn. He was fast, strong, and pure black. Giving one last hug to Mrs. Turbeldy, the cooks, and the children, Jaron mounted Taran and encouraged him away. He hadn't made it sixty feet before the shout rang out.

" Sage!"

Jaron turned around, to see the children rushing towards him, as fast as their small legs could carry. He slid off his horse, kneeled onto the ground, and opened his arms, welcoming the orphans into a massive embrace. Tears brimmed his eyes, and he saw many of the children were already crying.

" Please don't go!"

" Stay here!"

" We're going to miss you!"

Words mixed together, as the children pleaded him to stay.

" I have to go, guys. But, even if I'm not here, you have to keep going. Help Mrs. Turbeldy. And... just live your lives. I love you, guys."

And with that, he was up, on his horse again, galloping away, but his eyes never left the small figures, standing on the dirt road, not even after they faded from view.


End file.
